The Assignment
by 8Daisy8
Summary: Just a short drabble of the emotions I felt while playing the new Evil Within dlc through Juli Kidman's perspective. Spoilers. [On Hiatus. Might not finish.]
1. First Hour

As the _thing_ crept toward me, I could hear the slopping of wet flesh against the floor. The sheet that hung over it swung with each movement it made. The white material was stained with horribly huge red splotches. Its skin was a pale gray, the legs bony and looking as if they would snap at any moment. There was a heavy-looking metallic layer around where the head would normally be, blinding light shining out from it. It looked like a gory human flashlight!

"_Leslie,_" it breathed, its voice sounding like it was short of oxygen. "_Leslie. Leslie. Leslie._"

As I hid behind the desk scattered with papers in this dimly lit room, my heart sped up and I struggled to keep my breathing muted. On the hand over my lips, I could feel the sweat starting to rise from my skin. My body was trembling and I couldn't stop it. I could hear the clicking of my heel against the floor. Oh, God, it was going to hear me! I took hold of my foot and braced it against the underside of my thigh, my knees to my chest.

"_Leslie. Leslie._" The rasping sounded as if it was right over me! "_Leslie._"

When it came around the corner I froze in terror, staring wide-eyed at the relentless white light as it stung my vision. It swiveled its head around for a very long, painstaking moment or two. My heart leapt in my chest. I was sure I was about to die.

The creature turned and retreated. I didn't dare move a muscle until I could no longer hear any trace of it. I peeked my head over the desk when I thought it was safe. How bizarre it was to find that a set of double doors replaced the spot where a red logo with three stars once sat on the wall. I stood, my mind racing, and let out a deep breath while wiping the sweat from my brow.

"That thing used its light..."


	2. Second Hour

Shortly after standing, the door disappeared, the three red stars once again staining the wall. I glanced at the flashlight in my hand curtly, chancing to lift it up and focus it on the symbol. I couldn't believe it; right before my eyes, the stars distorted into the same double doors that the monster had summoned! I hesitantly opened them and peeked through.

Was I back where I had started? Large plants lined the walls on either side of me and up ahead was an even larger plant encased in glass, its leaves reaching up toward the ceiling. This had been where that man led me after giving me orders about my mission. I cautiously walked down the hall toward a huge glass window, seeing a white-haired figure making its way away from the building.

_Leslie! What is he doing here? I better get to him before those things do…_

Progressing forward into what seemed like a waiting room, I spied a couch next to a set of stairs. I felt drawn to it and complied with my brain's want. As I felt the plushness beneath me, I was briefly startled as a slight pressure settled on my lap. I looked down to see a little black cat mew up at me, a red ribbon around its neck. I stroked its silky fur for a few moments, the whole scene relaxing me as I forgot about my surroundings.

A sound came from the next room over and the cat immediately scattered off elsewhere, although I didn't know where to. I stood and started making my up the stairs and into yet another room consumed in almost complete darkness. I could tell this room was a large one and was filled with many cubicles. A low groan prompted me to duck behind a square pot filled with tall grass-like plants, peeking around the corner and shining the flashlight as I did so. I spotted two strange, glowing humanoids patrolling the area. Their flesh looked decayed and their clothes bore many shreds and stains.

I spied a door with keycard access behind one of them. I made my way over the next wall of cover, staying crouched. As I started to move again, an item caught my eye. I grabbed the gritty glass bottle and threw it to the opposite side of the room. As expected, the monsters hurried to the noise and I ran to the door, sliding the card through the processor and pushing the door open as soon as I heard the buzz that indicated it was unlocked. By now the monsters had spotted me and I ran down the long hallway in search of escape. I tried the door at the end of the hall; it was a dead end. Whirling around, I saw a vent close to the ground back down the hallway.

As the two horrific things came after me, I made a break for it. I dodged one, ducking under his outstretched hands. The second's grasp grazed me, but I still avoided it. I hurriedly yanked open the vent and leapt inside, pulling the exit shut behind me. My flashlight was the only way I could see anything in the claustrophobic space. Feeling helplessly afraid, I continued to travel through the tunnel, taking many turns before coming to an exit.

I descended a long flight of stairs before finding a room in which there were two red statues; one with three red stars and one that was simply a vertical line with a little curvature at the top. Looking beyond these statues was a gray symbol including three stars, just like the statue to the left. It reminded me of something…

It took me a few moments before I realized where I recognized this mark from. It was the same one that I used my flashlight on to create a door!

"This symbol… It's incomplete."

It all clicked in my brain as I realized that the statue to the right of me was what I needed to work with. I angled the flashlight so that the statue created a shadow that allowed me to finish the symbol. The odd static feeling came back again as another door appeared in the red mark's place. It led me into a room with an ample amount of medical supplies, though I knew how to use none of it. Shining the flashlight around the room, I searched for anything that may be of use to me.

Once again, I saw the three-starred red icon on a wall in the far corner. I shined my light over it and a table with a file on top of it appeared. My head ached and I groaned and put a hand to my temple.

"What's going on?"

I gasped as I quickly turned to see a pair of male apparitions talking to one another; it was the man who'd given me my mission and someone who looked like a doctor. I could hardly hear what they were saying as their voices sounded hazy and I was still trying to process everything through my fear. They disappeared, saying something about going to the projector in the next room.

I opened the door that had been behind them. There was a small area in the left corner of the room confined with glass. Walking by, my flashlight caught a glimpse of a burnt man in a long white robe; Ruvik. My heart sped up, only to skip a beat when he disappeared. Was he just a vision as well?

Trying to shrug it off as best as I could, I continued into a room where the symbol was on a tiny table in front of a white pull-down screen. As I focused my flashlight on it, a projector appeared, and with it, the two men again. When they had finished discussing their plans, I moved on yet again to a room with cubicles, but all shrouded in plastic sheets that hung from the ceiling. I jumped back a bit as the pair reappeared and their conversation took a sharp turn, sounding like a threat directed at the doctor. These visions were becoming overwhelming for my psyche.

Just as I approached a tall set of metal double doors, something started banging on the other side. The scrape of the metal itched at my ears, warning me to hide. I could spot nowhere that I deemed safe and stood frozen in the middle of the aisle as the doors creaked open, darkness looming on the opposite side. I approached it slowly when nothing revealed itself, finding a hallway that led to a door and, turning right, another set of stairs.

I approached the door first, placing my hand on the scanner. As I waited for it to process my DNA, I looked up at the darkness buoyed on the ceiling, like a balloon filled with helium. The device beeped in a negative tone.

"_Agent profile matches Juli Kidman; terminated for insubordination._"

"Insubordination?" I furrowed my brow. "That can't be right. Anyhow, I'd better find a way through this door."


	3. Third Hour

Seeing as the door was impassible, I decided to take my chances with the stairs. On closer inspection, the stairs were actually just a halted escalator. Coming to the bottom, I saw a sign that read "Administration Level" and just beyond that, more cubicles and a glass window that traveled down the length of the opposite wall. Then there was movement beyond the glass.

"Sebastian!" I gasped. "Joseph!"

But they couldn't hear me. I sighed, unfazed, and continued my journey. At the end of the row of work spaces, there was an elevator that seemed to be malfunctioning, opening and closing without a care for the button's command. Instead I had to open a giant metal door with a huge lock on it. It was pretty heavy as I pushed it open and went through. The moment I let go it slammed itself shut.

In the darkness of the room, another handprint scanner shone, obviously one I was unable to access. On the opposite side of the void was a functioning elevator. I pressed the button, jittery for whatever waited on the other side. This brought my train of thought back to Leslie.

_I need to hurry up and find him! He's completely defenseless alone._

The sound of the elevator doors parting jolted me out of the speculation. Thankfully, nothing awaited me inside. Without pressing a button, the giant metal box decided to move on its own. I came to a floor that seemed to be pretty far away from the one I was previously on. A computer terminal lit up the room behind a reception desk, a door waiting behind it.

I curiously placed my hand on the scanning screen and when it sounded this time, a paper printed. It seemed to have all of my information on it. The computer system voiced something about helping the scanned person through the next steps of receiving a valid profile.

_I don't think anyone's going to help me with this…_

Entering the next room, there was another sort of scanner and I cautiously placed my printout into it. I spied a camera as two parts of the machine whirred on both sides of me. Then a flash notified me that my picture had been taken. Accordingly, a facial profiling machine waited at the next door to scan me. The doors opened to yet another step in the process.

I was disgusted as I my flashlight illuminated several bloody bodies lying on the ground near the door. Stepping over two of them, my bravery wavered. Just as I was stepping over the last one, it reached out and grabbed my ankle. I yelled briefly, trying to tear away from its grasp. Several moments of this led me to panic and I realized I might die if I didn't do something quickly. I picked my opposite leg up and smashed my heel into the undead man's skull. The blood soaking my shoe and splattering onto the bottom of my pants, making me gag.

Swallowing back the unpleasantness, I walked further into the room only to discover another scanner. I placed my arm on the rest that sat next to the computer on the desk. It closed and began scanning. _Bang!_ The vent's cover beside me flew off its hinges and a ghastly red creature crawled out, sharp bristles pointing out from its back among large boils. It had no discernable face and this was truly disturbing. I struggled to release my hand from the scanner, resulting in the computerized voice telling me to "please remain still until the scanning is over." Whimpering as the creature slightly neared me, my mind raced with all possible ways to fight back with my arm trapped.

To my surprise, it walked right passed me and into the next vent. I let out a breath of relief and confusion swept over me. "Maybe it's blind?"

Conveniently enough, the arm scanner opened just as the creature disappeared from sight. I pursed my lips agitatedly. Then the realization dawned on me that there was no other way forward except…the vents. Clenching my fists with fear, I crawled into the vent, immediately spotting the creature from before. I waited for it to turn before scrambling forward as quietly as possible.

Coming to the end of the vent, I dropped down onto a metal platform, the loud clicking of my high-heeled shoes making me wary of any nearby monsters. The only form of progress from here was a ladder. I tried pushing it down gently but it seemed rusted in placed. I shoved as hard as I could, eventually adding my foot until it dropped down with an echoing _clang_. My stomach tightened as I heard the scampering feet of the monsters.

After descending the ladder, I quickly turned to find that at least six more of these species roamed about. Hurriedly, I crouched so as to be more quiet, taking a deep breath and starting my traversal.


End file.
